Principals purge gives others pause

Bumped into a friend, a young assistant principal out on spring break.

Couple of high school openings coming up, I kidded.

Nooooo thanks, he said. I like the job I've got.

It's low profile, he added. Less of a target.

Which is probably what other assistant principals around the county are thinking after the shock wave from this week's purge, effective at the end of the school year.

Southeast High's Mike Horne. Out.
Palmetto High's Debbie Valcarel . Out.
Buffalo Creek Middle's Scott Cooper. Out.
Time for a change, Superintendent Tim McGonegal said.

How widespread a change is what educators have to be asking themselves, as the suits at the Manatee School District unsheathe their long knives.

Not a comforting thing to ponder on spring break.

You can have those two high school principal jobs, my friend said.

But his sympathy for the outgoing occupants only went so far.

You watch, he said. They'll end up with jobs downtown.

---Vin Mannix